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We were ‘Newbies’ Once... And Young
It’s easy to forget; For some of us shooting IPSC has been a part of our lives for years, decades in some cases. But there was a time when we were ‘newbies’. We have become so acclimatized to shooting matches that in some cases we forget how confusing this whole thing is for the new shooter.
Not only do they have to remember not to shoot anyone or break the 90 degree rule, but they have to figure out how the match is run, what happens when they get to the berm, what does ‘on-deck’ and ‘in the hole’ mean. And why do people keep giving them a roll of brown tape....???
So here is the ‘newbies’ guide to shooting a match; We will assume for the moment that you have successfully completed your handgun safety course and that you are familiar with how to use the firearm safely, blah, blah, blah...
Sign-Up. The matches usually start at either 9am or 10am. If possible try to arrive a couple of hours before this. Then you can help with the stage setup. You will be amazed at what you can learn whilst putting up a stage. You will see how the designer works out all the angles and the positioning of the targets. While putting up the stage you may start to figure out the best way to shoot that stage.
Fill out the score sheets. Make sure that you put your FULL name and the type of division that your are shooting in on the score sheet. If you have a USPSA number then put that down as well. Don’t forget to indicate if you are shooting MAJOR or MINOR.
Squadding. Try to latch on to someone that you know at the match, sign up at the same time as that person to increase your chances of being on the same squad. Once everyone has signed up the Match Director does his little safety speech, pay close attention to this as there may be announcements at the same time. As part of the talk the Match Director (he who must be obeyed) will indicate the squadding. He will say something like ‘Squads of 15’. On your score sheet will be your shooter number, If you are 1-15 then you are in Squad 1. If you are 16-30 then you are in Squad 2... etc..
Briefing. There then follows the hike up and down the shooting range while the Match Director spells out what the course of fire is for each stage. Try to get at the front of the crowd to make sure that you can hear what is said. Don’t worry if you miss some of it as it is all written down on a piece of paper that stays on that particular berm. If you have questions, now is the time to ask them. Don’t be afraid to ask a dumb question, we have all been here before and we have all asked dumb questions at one time or another; In fact some shooters make a habit of asking dumb questions just to rile up the Match Director (he who must be ridiculed). Once all the briefings have been done then everyone splits off into their respective squads and heads to the correct berm. If you are in Squad 1, go to berm 1. If you are in Squad 2 then go to berm 2... Do you see a pattern emerging here ?
The Berm. Okay we have made our way to the correct berm, the butterflies are doing acrobatics in your abdomen but don’t worry, it’s going to be okay. First things first, someone will be collecting score-sheets. Find the correct score-sheet for this stage, if you are not sure which is the correct score sheet then ask someone.
Walkthrough. The walk through is a vital part of the stage, this is the opportunity to walk through the course of fire as if you were shooting it, leave the gun in the holster at this point. Handling the gun without the supervision of an RO (Range Officer) causes a tremendous amount of excitement... but not the good kind; You will suffer a match disqualification which means you get to go home very early and install shelving in the kitchen. If you are unsure of the best way to shoot the stage - and bear in mind there may be many ways to shoot a stage - then don’t be afraid to ask for help. We were all new at this once and everyone will happily offer advice. The trick for the first few matches is to keep it simple.
Procedure. Once all the walking through is done, then it’s time to start shooting. There will be an RO (Range Officer) and a scorekeeper. These are usually people of have done a few matches and who are familiar with the rules. Some have completed extensive USPSA training to become RO’s but there is no training to be a scorekeeper, which is why checking your score sheet is so important. More on that later. The scorekeeper will call out the name of the first, second and third shooter. The first shooter will be called the ‘shooter’, (pretty obvious so far), the second shooter will be called as ‘on deck’, the third shooter will be ‘in the hole’. Don’t ask why they are called that, it may go back to some dark masonic ritual. If you as a ‘newbie’ are called to shoot first, tell the scorekeeper that you would like to be moved down a bit in the shooting order, this gives you an opportunity to watch some other people make a complete twit of themselves before it’s your turn in the spotlight.
Workers. Once the list of the shooter and the two standby shooters have been called, then the scorekeeper will call the names of the people who have to work. They will typically call two people to ‘patch’ or ‘tape’ and one person to set steel, assuming that there are steel targets on this stage. And one or two people to ‘brass’.
Patching/Taping. If your name is called as a PATCHER or TAPER then grab a roll of brown sticky tape, it’s hard to miss, it looks like a very flat inedible donut. As the RO scores the targets - actually AFTER the RO scores the targets - you can tear off an inch of tape and patch the holes. There is white tape for the no-shoot targets and black tape for the hardcover targets. Make sure that the tape is pressed down firmly and not left all curly.
Brassing. If your name is called to BRASS then it means that you get to scrabble around in the dirt and pick up the shooter’s empty cases. Most shooters have a ‘brass bag’ for this purpose. It should be pointed out that the bag itself is not brass, but it is a bag for holding brass. I think is is important to clear up that misunderstanding.
Shooting. This is the stuff where you get to do your thing. You should be familiar with the standard procedures, such as ‘LOAD AND MAKE READY’, ‘STANDBY’, ‘BEEP’..bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, fumbled reload, bang, bang, bang, ‘OH SH*T WHERE DO I GO NOW ???’, bang, bang. ‘UNLOAD AND SHOW CLEAR’. ‘IF CLEAR, HAMMER DOWN, HOLSTER’. By now you are out of breath and wondering if you screwed up or not. Don’t worry about screwing up, as long as you are safe then no-one will laugh, we were all ‘newbies’ once.
Scoring. The RO will now proceed to score your targets - don’t worry about picking up your brass cases or your empty magazines your squad-mates will take care of that - you will get plenty of opportunities to pay back this kindness later. Follow the RO around as he scores your targets, look at where your shots are. If they are too low or too high then some adjustment of your sights may be in order. The RO will call out the hits and misses and the no-shoots and the procedural errors that you had for running over the fault lines that you missed in all the excitement. The job of the scorekeeper is to immortalise all this data on your score sheet and total up all the hits, misses and no-shoots etc..
Checking. Once the scoring has completed the scorekeeper will hand you the score sheet to check and sign. Check the score-sheet, make sure it is your score-sheet and not someone else's, make sure that the time is recorded correctly. Make sure that the total number of Hits and Misses totals the number of rounds on the stage. If you are happy then sign it, if you are not happy then call the scorekeeper a blithering ignoramus and indicate the cause of your displeasure. Once the error has been corrected to your satisfaction then you can sign the score-sheet. The scores remain with the scorekeeper who will see that they are handed in at the end of each stage.
Preparation. Clean your magazines that you dropped all over the floor and load them up ready for the next stage.
Helping. Once you have prepared everything for the next stage, you may want to help out with the Patching or Brassing. Even if your name has not been called to help, helping to patch and brass keeps the squads moving and prevents delays in the match. Alternatively you may want to follow the scorekeeper around to see how the score sheet is marked up. That way you can do this duty yourself after a few matches.
Remember. Shooting is a volunteer sport. Everybody loves a volunteer, nobody loves a slacker. Everybody loves the shooter that turns up early to set up the match, nobody likes the shooter that turns up late and leaves early. Everybody loves the shooter that help to patch and brass, nobody likes the shooter that slinks off the berm once they have shot and then slithers back like a snake at the end of the stage just as everyone else is done shooting. Everybody loves the shooter that brings donuts, I’ll say that again... everybody loves the shooter that bring donuts....!
Benefits of Joining
There are several benefits to becoming a member of our organization. Our members are close friends and we have a great time when we get together. Of course we also have a common interest, and we enjoy getting together and shooting every month.
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